By Fabíola Ortiz BONN (IDN) – Forest degradation and biodiversity loss carry a very heavy price for climate and people’s livelihoods. Restoring forests matters when it comes to growing resilience to climate variation and securing a healthy environment for future generations. This was the main message delivered by experts and community leaders who met in […]
Scientists Urge Radical Change in ‘Stewardship of the Earth’
By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) – A group of eminent scientists has issued a terse warning that to prevent widespread misery and catastrophic biodiversity loss, humanity must practice a more environmentally sustainable alternative to business as usual. “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is […]
Global Forum Underlines Need for Universal Health Coverage
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | TOKYO (IDN) – Nearly half of the world’s population of 7.6 billion lacks access to essential health services at present and for almost 100 million people health expenses are high enough to push them into extreme poverty. Against this perturbing backdrop, revealed by a recent report, a global Forum in […]
One Planet Summit Spotlights Funding to Fight Climate Change
By A.D. McKenzie PARIS (IDN) – Financing is key in the fight against climate change, said delegate after delegate at the One Planet Summit in Paris December 12, and this meeting was all about the money: where to invest it and where not. The World Bank Group announced that it would not be financing upstream […]
Astana Process On Syrian Peace Enters Critical 8th Round
By Jaya Ramachandran UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – As Kazakhstan prepares to chair the UN Security Council for the month of January 2018, the Central Asian country’s contribution in the process of de-escalation of the nearly seven-year old conflict in Syria has been commended during Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov’s recent visits to London and Vienna. The […]
UN Environment Assembly Galvanises Nations to Act on Taming Pollution
By Justus Wanzala NAIROBI (IDN) – Amid a cacophony of voices, interests and expectations, the third high level United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), held in Nairobi from December 4-6, had a common denominator – a sense of strong desire and willingness among delegations for action to ensure a pollution-free world. Some walked the talk. Indeed, […]
South-South Cooperation Holds the Key To Beating Global Development Challenges
By Jacques N. Couvas ANKARA (IDN) – “Solutions for the South by the South” was the recurring theme that resounded throughout the duration of the Global South-South Development Expo 2017 (GSSD Expo) from November 27 to 30, 2017 in Antalya, the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast. This landmark event of the United Nations […]
The Global Fund To Fight AIDS Asked to Change Criteria Discriminating Poor Countries
By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) – As this year’s World AIDS Day campaign – My Health, My Right – kicks into high gear, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has called on The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to end the use of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita as part of […]
The World’s Poorest Need Funding for Access to Modern Energy
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) – The world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs) are “the battleground” on which the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be won or lost, Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD has warned, adding that it is high time for donors to meet aid commitments. The 2030 Agenda includes an explicit goal […]
Violence Against Women and Girls is Not Inevitable
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka The writer is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. Following is the text of the statement titled ‘A life without the threat of violence for everyone: leave no one behind’ released on 16 November launching ‘Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence‘ ahead of the International Day for the […]